All wedding traditions
674 traditions so far, best known first. 108 more are on the list to be written. Filter by region, kind and stage of the wedding.
RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
🇭🇺 Hungary and 5 moreCsárdás
A Hungarian folk dance that begins slowly and ends with a fast spin.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇮🇹 ItalyFescennine VersesFescennina carmina
Bawdy wedding songs from Ancient Rome that evolved into satire and comic drama.Performance · Engagement and betrothal
🇺🇦 UkraineSong about the RushnykПісня про рушник (Pisnia pro rushnyk)
A Ukrainian song that celebrates the embroidered cloth used in weddings and family life.Performance · The ceremony
🇬🇷 Crete, GreecePentozaliΠεντοζάλης
The vigorous Cretan war dance of high jumps and improvisation that marks the wedding procession.Performance · Procession and arrival
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreKalamatianosΚαλαματιανός
A popular Greek folk dance performed in a chain at weddings and social gatheringsPerformance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇲🇰 Galičnik, North MacedoniaGaličnik Wedding FestivalГаличка свадба (Galička svadba)
A recreated traditional wedding in a North Macedonian village that turns a local rite into an annual festival.Feast custom · The ceremony
🇦🇹 Vienna, Austria and 2 moreViennese waltzWiener Walzer
The fast rotary ballroom dance that originated in Austria and defines the traditional waltz.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇨🇭 Switzerland and 5 moreChicken DanceDer Ententanz
A novelty polka song and accompanying hand movements performed at weddings and festivals.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇵🇱 Poland and 1 morePolonaisePolonez
A stately Polish partner dance in triple metre that opens weddings and formal celebrations.Performance · Procession and arrival
🇵🇱 PolandSto lat
A Polish song sung to wish a person long life and good health at weddings and other gatherings.Performance · The wedding feast
🇬🇷 GreeceTsamikoΤσάμικος
A traditional Greek folk dance performed at weddings and festivals, known for its slow tempo and acrobatic leaps.Performance · The wedding feast
🇪🇸 Seville, SpainSevillanas
A traditional Andalusian folk dance performed by couples at weddings and local festivals in Spain.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇱🇹 Lithuania and 1 moreLithuanian wedding songsvestuvinės dainos
The polyphonic songs and weeping rituals that mark a Lithuanian bride's transition to her new family.Performance · Engagement and betrothal
🇩🇪 GermanyGroßvatertanz
A traditional Saxon dance played at the end of wedding celebrations to mark the finale.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 5 moreBulgarian wedding musicсватбарска музика
Fast-paced instrumental music played at Bulgarian weddings that blends folk, Romani, and Turkish styles.Performance · The ceremony
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 4 moreKorovaiкоровай (Ukrainian), каравай (Russian), кравай (Bulgarian)
A large round braided bread shared at weddings to bless the couple and unite the community.Feast custom · The ceremony
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreCountry dance
A social partner dance from England where couples follow a caller through repeated figures in long lines or squares.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreWedding March (Mendelssohn)
Felix Mendelssohn's C major piece from 1842, used as a recessional at Western weddings.Performance · After the wedding
🇷🇴 Romania and 7 moreHorahora (Romanian), horo (Bulgarian), oro (Macedonian), horah (Hebrew)
A circle dance held at weddings across Southeast Europe and among Jewish communities worldwide.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreEpithalamium
A poem or song written to celebrate a bride as she goes to her wedding chamber.Performance · The eve
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreBridal ChorusTreulich geführt
The Wagner opera march played for the bride's entrance at Western weddings.Performance · Procession and arrival
🇵🇱 Poland and 5 moreMoney dance
A reception ritual where guests give cash to the couple while dancing or showering them with notes.Feast custom · Reception, dance and gifts
🇷🇸 Serbia and 2 moreKoloКоло
A South Slavic circle dance performed at weddings and social gatherings across the Balkans.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇸🇰 SlovakiaMamko Moja
A Slovak Roma wedding song about a bride's longing for marriagePerformance · The weeks before
🇬🇷 GreeceLipothymiarikosΛιποθυμιάρικος (Horos tis Nifis)
A Greek wedding dance where men mimic a fainting bride in the early morning hours.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇵🇱 Poland and 1 moreBadchenבּדחן (badkhn)
The Ashkenazi Jewish wedding entertainer and master of ceremonies who guides the couple through ritual stages with song Performance · Engagement and betrothal
🇩🇪 GermanyWedding Quodlibet
A lighthearted musical piece by J.S. Bach performed at weddings in early 18th-century Germany.Performance · Engagement and betrothal
🇺🇦 Kolomyia, Ukraine and 2 moreKolomyikaколомийка
A fast Ukrainian folk dance with rhymed verses, celebrated at weddings in western Ukraine and Canada.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇷🇴 Romania and 4 moreCălușariCălușarii
A traditional Romanian spring dance and male society known for acrobatic leaps and ritual healing.Performance · The weeks before
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreAnastenariaΑναστενάρια (Greek), Нестинарство (Bulgarian)
A barefoot firewalking ritual performed by Orthodox Christian communities in Greece and Bulgaria.Rite · The weeks before
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 7 moreVechornytsiвечорниці
A Ukrainian courtship gathering where young people meet, dance and practice matchmaking rituals before the wedding seasoBetrothal · The weeks before
🇳🇴 NorwayEsbat
A monthly Wiccan gathering held around the moon phases for ritual and communityBlessing · The ceremony
🇩🇪 GermanyLandshut WeddingLandshuter Hochzeit
A four-year historical pageant in Bavaria re-enacting the 1475 royal marriage of George and Hedwig.Setting · Engagement and betrothal
🇺🇦 UkraineMnohaya litaМногая літа
A Ukrainian song sung at weddings to wish the couple many years of life.Performance
🇭🇺 Hungary and 2 moreEaster sprinkling in Hungaryhúsvéti locsolás
An Easter Monday custom where boys sprinkle water or perfume on girls and receive painted eggs in return.Betrothal · The weeks before
🇬🇷 Kythnos, GreeceBalosΜπάλος της Κύθνου
A vigorous paired folk dance from the Greek island of Kythnos featuring continuous back-to-back turns.Performance · The wedding feast
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreChapelloise
A circle mixer dance with partner changes kept in the European Balfolk scenePerformance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇷🇴 RomaniaDragobete
A Romanian spring festival where young people exchange flowers and seek romantic bonds.Betrothal · The weeks before
🇵🇱 Poland and 3 moreŚmigus-Dyngus
The Easter Monday water splashing and willow whipping tradition of Central EuropeRite · The weeks before
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreLeventikosΛεβέντικος (Greek), Буфчанско (Macedonian)
A five-beat folk dance performed by Greeks and Slav Macedonians in western Macedonia.Performance
🇬🇧 United KingdomWassailing
Singing and drinking to bless trees or homes during the Christmas seasonFeast custom · The weeks before
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreTsifteteliτσιφτετέλι (Greek), Çiftetelli (Turkish)
A belly dance rhythm from Anatolia and the Balkans performed primarily by womenPerformance
🇬🇧 United KingdomNantgarw DancesDawnsfeydd Nantgarw
A Welsh folk dance style from south Wales featuring handkerchiefs and sticks.Performance
🇭🇷 Croatia and 2 moreBećarac
A humorous folk song sung at weddings and village parties in Eastern CroatiaPerformance · The wedding feast
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 2 moreQaytarma
A Crimean Tatar folk dance of cyclical motion performed at weddings and holidays.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇮🇹 Siena, ItalyMarch of the PalioMarcia del Palio
The brass anthem played during the historical parade before Siena's horse race.Performance · Procession and arrival
🇷🇴 Romania and 5 moreKlezmerקלעזמער
The instrumental dance music played by Ashkenazi Jewish musicians at weddings in Eastern Europe and beyondPerformance · Engagement and betrothal
🇭🇷 CroatiaZa križen
A night-long Maundy Thursday procession on Hvar island that honors the Weeping of the Lady.Blessing · The weeks before
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Epithalamium: Lorenzo Lotto, Public domain, source
- Csárdás: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Mnohaya lita: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Balos: DNK GR, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chapelloise: Unuaiga, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Śmigus-Dyngus: Nationwide Specialty Co., Arlington, Texas -- In Buffalo, N.Y., Stanle, CC BY 3.0, source
- Landshut Wedding: Oktobersonne, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sevillanas: Anual, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lithuanian wedding songs: Gailė Paštukaitė, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Wassailing: Joss Smithson, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Nantgarw Dances: Tabulabells, CC0, source
- Qaytarma: Gottfried Heinrich Geißler, Public domain, source
- Klezmer: Syrena Records (Warsaw), Public domain, source
- Za križen: E.mil.mil, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hora: Chajeshukarie ( talk ), Public domain, source
- Bridal Chorus: Pierre Petit, Public domain, source
- Wedding Quodlibet: Aschroet, CC0, source
- Country dance: Engraving by William Hogarth, CC BY 4.0, source
- Easter sprinkling in Hungary: Matyófolk, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bread and salt: Olli Niemitalo, CC0, source
- Kolo: Sasa.mazinjanin, Public domain, source
- Vechornytsi: Гейслер, Кристиан Готфрид Генрих, Public domain, source
- Großvatertanz: traditional, Public domain, source
- Galičnik Wedding Festival: IvanaKrstik, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kolomyika: Teodor Axentowicz, Public domain, source
- Viennese waltz: Sigismund von Dobschütz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Anastenaria: Artkostov, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chicken Dance: Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Badchen: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Călușari: El bes, CC BY 3.0, source
- Polonaise: Korneli Szlegel, Public domain, source
- Bulgarian wedding music: Allen Ruttenberg, CC BY 2.0, source